Our Team
What do the letters mean after a therapist’s name?
Amanda Mitchell,
LCPC, BC-DMT
(she/her/hers)
Areas of Expertise: Dance/Movement Therapy, Individual, Couples, Group
Languages: English
Areas of Focus:
- Grief and traumatic loss
- Trauma and anxiety
- Integrative mind-body-spirit approach to healing
Sondra Mailling,
LCPC, BC-DMT, GL-CMA
(she/her/hers)
Areas of Expertise: Dance/Movement Therapy, Individual, Group
Languages: English, American Sign Language
Areas of Focus:
- Trauma and anxiety
- Depression and mood disorders
- Creatives and performing artists
Sara Heidbreder,
LCPC, BC-DMT, GL-CMA
(she/her/hers)
Areas of Expertise: Dance/ Movement Therapy, Individual, Child/Family, Group
Languages: English, Japanese
Areas of Focus:
- Relational Trauma and anxiety
- Racial, cultural identity and equity
- Infertility and pre/postnatal support
Ciera Shimkus,
LCPC, REAT, RYT-200
(she/her/hers)
Areas of Expertise: Expressive Arts Therapy, Individual, Child/Family, Group
Languages: English
Areas of Focus:
- Neurodiversity in adults and teens
- Anxiety disorders
- Racial identity
Josslyn Baron, MA, ATR-P
Registered Art Therapist - Provisional
(she/they)
Areas of Expertise: Art Therapy, Individual, Group
Languages: English, Spanish
Areas of Focus:
- Self-Esteem and Identity
- Multicultural identities
- Life transitions
Zach Twardowski
Counseling Intern, Drama Therapist in training
(he/him/his)
Areas of Expertise: Drama Therapy, Individual, Group, Child/Family
Languages: English
Areas of Focus:
- Grief and anxiety
- Estrangement and religious trauma
- Identity, self-esteem, and life transitions
Kate Ziebart
Counseling and Art Therapy Intern
(she/her)
Areas of Expertise: Art Therapy, Individual, Group, Family
Languages: English
Areas of Focus:
- Anxiety, Stress
- Neurodiversity, ADHD
- Self acceptance and confidence
License Levels
You may have noticed in our bios that each therapist has letters after those names. What do these letters mean? Some of them relate to levels of licensure in Illinois:
- LPC or licensed professional counselor is a masters-level therapist who is working under the supervision of a more experienced therapist. They are working towards completing supervised clinical hours in order to obtain the next level of licensure, which is…
- LCPC or licensed clinical professional counselor is a masters-level therapist who has completed their supervised hours and has worked in the field for the equivalent of at least two years, full-time.
- Counseling intern is a student in a masters in counseling program who is working under the close supervision of an LCPC.
- Somatic EMDR is Somatic EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapeutic modality that helps people heal from traumatic experiences. Somatic EMDR sessions can help those who have experienced: years of unsuccessful therapy, depersonalization and/or derealization, memory lapses, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, somatic symptoms and other triggers to the nervous system.
Other letters listed in our therapists’ bios indicate their credentials as creative arts therapists.
- ATR or registered art therapist is a masters-level therapist who has completed art therapy training and has worked in the field for the equivalent of at least two years, full-time, under the supervision of another ATR.
- BC-DMT or board-certified dance/movement therapist is a masters-level therapist who has completed dance/movement therapy training and has worked in the field for the equivalent of at least two years, full-time, under the supervision of another BC-DMT.
- MT-BC or board certified music therapist is a bachelor’s level therapist who has completed at least 1200 hours under the supervision of a music therapist. All our music therapists are at master’s level and have completed another 2 years of education to receive a masters of music therapy that can be identified as “MM” or ” MA”.